Hey America, Australia Hasn’t Fallen!

We’re okay down here, but how are you all doing?

For the past few weeks, our social media feeds down here have been getting slammed with #Australiahasfallen, mainly by right-wing commentators based in the US. People like Tucker Carlson and Alex Jones have been telling anyone that would listen that Australia has become one massive internment camp, that we’ve all been enslaved by the pandemic, and that our freedoms have been taken away from us. Back in October, some lady by the name of Candace Owens even went as far as claiming that the US should invade Australia, to free its people from tyranny.

Just let that sink in — Owens called for the military invasion of one of the US’s key strategic allies — because we’re wearing masks?

Now I don’t know who these people are (Carlson, Jones, Owens, et al), but it’s clear they haven’t set foot in Australia lately because the reality that they are projecting (to whoever would be silly enough to listen to them) is a world away from the reality of our daily life here.

I live in Queensland, which is the state of about 5 million people that Ms. Owens claims is being run by the Taliban, Hitler, and Stalin all rolled into one, hence her call for “liberation”. However, as a state, we’re currently running at almost 80% double vaxed total population, and we have had just 7 poor souls die from covid-19 since the pandemic began in 2020.

7 deaths — 6 in the first year, and 1 person this year, who all caught the disease elsewhere and brought it into Queensland.

We have managed to do this thanks to stable management from our state Premier, who referred all decision-making to her Chief Health Officer, who just happened to be an actual Medical Doctor. Using the latest scientific data and observation of overseas experience these two ladies closed our borders, sent all new arrivals into 14-day Quarantine, encouraged safe practices such as social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand washing, and introduced QR codes for contact tracing. They then trusted the responsible adults to do the right thing.

Which we did — and it worked.

I mean, my kids went to school, I still did some work, I have surfed as much as I wanted even during lockdown (essential exercise), we can go to movies, we can play sport, we can walk in the park, we can go to restaurants and bars and cafes.

And we still didn’t catch covid.

In Australia we have free health care, we’ve never had a school shooting, the air and water are clean, we have amazing beaches, we’re good at sport and we do great BBQs.

We haven’t fallen at all, in fact, I reckon in comparison to some of your states, we’re doing just fine!

So, for all the Americans reading this that think #Australiahasfallen and needs “liberating” just hold your horses, thanks for your concern, but we’re doing okay, no need to invade us.

Oh, and maybe don’t believe everything these people are saying on TV?

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